People of Terra Nullius: Betrayal and Rebirth in Aboriginal Canada

by Boyce Richardson

Richardson, a filmmaker who has spent 25 years documenting aboriginal life in Canada, describes aboriginal people in communities across the country, and documents prejudiced policies that, since the first days of the European invasion, have affected the aboriginal people. He discusses colonial policies, the Indian Act, and groups such as the Mikmaqs, Algonquins, and Ojibway. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

393 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[T.R. Ormond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly researched and written in an accessible style, Boyce Richardson's People of Terra Nullius represents the summation of knowledge of one of Canada's best journalists of the last century. Richardson is perhaps most famous for his writing about the Eeyouch and Eenouch of Quebec for the now defunct Montreal Star and his documentary films on the same people made for the NFB of Canada.

This book's two main strengths:

1. Its comprehensiveness. He covers a lot of history and contemporary issues in an informed and progressive way.

2. Its generosity. Richardson doesn't hide anything about his approach to researching journalism and conducting interviews. You can learn a lot about the old journalism from reading this book.

The book's main weakness was that it was a little disorganized. By being so comprehensive, and by adopting the journalistic style, Richardson tends to veer back and forth through history and nations. I guess I prefer more focus. That's probably as much a criticism of my reading as of Richardson's writing.

Another thing worth pointing out is that many of the ideas in this book will seem dated today. You can't read this book in isolation. You need to supplement it with other, more recent books.

[Susan Delisle]

good intro. non-academic. dated.

[Kristie (fabk)]

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